1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and a method for analyzing and/or estimating a state of a banknote processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a system and a method for analyzing and/or estimating a state of a banknote processing apparatus, capable of automatically collecting use information such as setting information, state information, counting information, and fitness information of the banknote processing apparatus, and producing state estimation information of the banknote processing apparatus using statistical information produced from or based on the collected use information.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, a banknote processing apparatus for automatically counting the number of banknotes is used for preventing staffs of a bank from making mistakes in counting the banknotes. The banknote processing apparatus includes a banknote fitness sorter (or a banknote validator). The banknote fitness sorter (or the banknote validator) is built in the banknote processing apparatus, a vending machine, or an automatic teller machine (ATM) to determine whether fed banknotes are genuine ones. For example, the banknote fitness sorter (or the banknote validator) determines whether the fed banknotes are forged ones, new ones, old ones, or damaged ones. For reference, a banknote processing apparatus as described herein may cover all kinds of banknote processing apparatuses with a banknote validating function as well as a banknote counting function, and banknote validating apparatuses with a banknote counting function.
The banknote processing apparatuses are used in financial institutions such as a bank, a cash transport firm, a currency exchange office and a post office, and business establishments dealing with lots of checks and cashes such as a gas station, a casino, a public restaurant, a hotel, a department store, a super market, a duty-free shop, a large-scale store, a chain store and a convenience store. The banknote processing apparatus has a basically guaranteed durability and/or life (that is, a period in which the banknote processing apparatus may be used as it is). However, the period in which the banknote processing apparatus may be used as it is may vary in accordance with the operating environment or number of uses. Furthermore, constitutional elements like various sensors of the apparatus may go wrong regardless of the durability and/or life of the banknote processing apparatus.
Therefore, it is necessary to periodically examine the banknote processing apparatuses to check states of the banknote processing apparatuses for their trouble prevention. However, since cost, time, and manpower for examining the banknote processing apparatuses may be limited, it is difficult to periodically examine the banknote processing apparatuses. In addition, since the banknote processing apparatuses are exported to and installed in various areas or countries all over the world without being limited to any particular area or a country, it is difficult to periodically examine the banknote processing apparatuses to check the states of the banknote processing apparatuses. In addition, in a conventional art, since set and state information and counting and fitness information of the banknote processing apparatus are in person checked and inquired by a user (or a manager) offline, there have been problems that data may be missed by an arbitrary selection of the user, or various information items may not be analyzed.
A background art of the present invention is disclosed in Korean Patent No. 10-0812254 (registered on Mar. 4, 2008 and entitled “Banknote Validator”).